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Spooky Black Velvet Cupcakes with Easy Spiderweb Icing

black velvet cupcakes - featured image
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These Spooky Black Velvet Cupcakes with Spiderweb Icing are the Halloween treat that actually delivers. They look dramatic and creepy, but they taste like comfort and chocolate and everything good about fall baking.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ½ cups (190g) all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup (20g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural, not Dutch-process)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil (canola or avocado oil also work)
  • ¾ cup (180ml) buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (pure vanilla)
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons black gel food coloring (recommend Americolor Super Black or Chefmaster)
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional but recommended)
  • 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese, softened (full-fat block cream cheese)
  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 to 4 cups (360g to 480g) powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (for frosting)
  • Pinch of salt (for frosting)
  • White gel food coloring (optional, for brighter white web)
  • Black frosting (about ½ cup of the batch, dyed black with gel coloring)
  • White frosting (remaining batch, left white or tinted slightly)
  • Toothpick or skewer (for web-drawing)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line your muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder if using. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract, and white vinegar until smooth and slightly thickened, about 30 seconds.
  4. Add 1 tablespoon of black gel food coloring to the wet mixture and whisk it in. Add the second tablespoon if needed (I usually use about 1 ½ tablespoons). Keep whisking until the color is completely uniform.
  5. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold everything together gently, mixing just until no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix.
  6. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 liners, filling each about ⅔ full (about ¼ cup per liner).
  7. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes. At 18 minutes, insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake; if it comes out with a few moist crumbs, they’re done. Let cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  8. While the cupcakes cool, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together in a large bowl with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides. Add the vanilla and salt, then beat again.
  9. Gradually add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating on low speed until incorporated. Once all the sugar is in, beat on medium-high for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. If too soft, refrigerate for 15 minutes.
  10. Transfer about ½ cup of the frosting to a small bowl and add a few drops of black gel food coloring until dark gray or black. Leave the remaining frosting white (add a tiny drop of white gel coloring if desired).
  11. Fit a piping bag with a round tip (or snip the corner of a zip-top bag) and fill with white frosting. Pipe a smooth, even layer over each cooled cupcake.
  12. Spoon the black frosting into another piping bag. Pipe a small circle in the center of each white-frosted cupcake, then pipe concentric circles around it, spacing them about ½ inch apart (3 or 4 rings).
  13. Working quickly, use a toothpick or skewer to drag lines from the center outward, starting at the center and dragging to the edge. Repeat every inch or so around the cupcake. Wipe the toothpick clean between each drag.
  14. Refrigerate the finished cupcakes for at least 30 minutes to let the frosting set before serving.

Notes

Don’t overmix the batter to avoid dense cupcakes. Use room temperature ingredients for best results. Wear gloves when handling black food coloring to avoid staining. Work quickly when creating the spiderweb design. If frosting slides off, cupcakes weren’t cool enough; pop them in the freezer for 10 minutes before frosting. For gluten-free, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum. For dairy-free, use plant-based buttermilk and dairy-free cream cheese and butter.

Nutrition

Keywords: Halloween cupcakes, black velvet cupcakes, spiderweb icing, cream cheese frosting, spooky desserts, themed baking

Find it online: https://cravemila.com/spooky-black-velvet-cupcakes-with-easy-spiderweb-icing/